Banks Battle Over Bellini, Caravaggio, and Lippi Masterpieces

A six-year dispute between two Italian banks over three Renaissance masterpieces has been resolved. The Banca Popolare di Vicenza had acquired the Cassa di risparmio di Prato in the early 2000s, including its assets, among which were Giovanni Bellini's 'Crocifisso con cimitero ebraico', Caravaggio's 'Coronazione di Cristo', and Filippo Lippi's 'Madonna con Bambino'. In 2011, under the presidency of Gianni Zonin, the paintings were moved to Vicenza for an exhibition titled 'Capolavori sacri e profani' but were never returned to Prato's Palazzo degli Alberti, where they were normally displayed alongside other 15th- and 16th-century panel paintings and 17th-century Tuscan works. The dispute involved administrators and politicians, including public appeals to then-Minister Massimo Bray. An agreement has now been signed, committing to return the works to Prato as soon as legally possible.